By Jessy Joseph
New Delhi: Diocese of Faridabad has launched various activities to help Covid 19 victims get proper care and support.
“Eighty percent of my people are affected with Covid and we have lost four religious sisters recently,” Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara of Faridabad told Matters India. Some 15 priests are Covid positive now in the diocese that covers the national capital and surrounding states.
The diocese has formed a medical team to provide teleconsultation to people with mild symptoms.
“We have people from various walks of life — doctors, nurses, priests, nun, lay people and youth — to help those in need,” Archbishop Bharanikulangara said.
Different committee have formed at diocesan, parish and unit levels to “ensure proper care and support,” the prelate said.
Another team is tasked to find beds for patients, medicine, and oxygen cylinders.
The team has developed a database of vacant beds, oxygen filling station across Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon. The volunteers help the patients to get admission in hospitals.
The team will provide oximeter, thermometer and medicines to the needy. Masks, sanitizers and personal protective kits will be given to those in need.
The diocese has opened its cemetery in Sanjopuram village in Haryana for the burial of Catholics who die of Covid 19.
“We want to give a respectful and decent burial for our people,” Father Biju Kannampuzha, incharge of the pastoral and quarantine care team, told Matters India.
The 20-member team has conducted burial of nine bodies within six days, Father Kannampuzha said.
Archbishop Bharanikulangara says his priests and nuns have reached out to the people ever since the pandemic began. “People should not feel that they are isolated,” he added.
The diocese has also arranged quarantine facility for those in need at its school in Dwarka.
“We have started a free of cost quarantine centre with ten beds for the poor and the needy,” said Father Kannampuzha, who is also the director of the Infant Jesus School.
The diocesan youth have developed a database of plasma donors.
The archbishop has urged his people to pray and fast seeking God’s blessings to protect, prevent and heal those affected by Covid 19 all over the world.
Meanwhile the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India has called for observing May 7 as a day of prayer to contain the virus.
“We need to pray together for God’s protection and follow all the safety measures to get rid of this devastating virus,” Archbishop Bharanikulangara said.